


The Bucket List

by kindofeverybody



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: F/M, Fluff, No Smut, No Spoilers, Red John is not important and not mentioned either, just fluff, unrequited love at first
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 12:46:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11313687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kindofeverybody/pseuds/kindofeverybody
Summary: Finding a birthday present for Teresa Lisbon seemed like an impossible thing to do. At least to Patrick Jane.But then he came up with an idea:He asked her to write down seven things, she always wanted to do but simply couldn't and Lisbon agreed.Neither of them knew what awaited them but ghosts from the past, drunken confessions and learning how to juggle were only a few of these things.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally posted on my wattpad account @kindofeverybody and now I'll post it on here because I'm quite proud of it.

This was torture. Jane lay on his couch, pretending to be asleep but his mind was racing. How was he supposed to find a solution to this problem without causing too much damage? He sighed audibly and Van Pelt turned her head in his direction, seemingly confused. But she knew better than to ask why this sound of disapproval came out of the consultants mouth. 

After a few more minutes of frustration, Patrick let his hands run through his curls and over his face and got up to take a walk. "Need fresh air." was all he said to his red haired collegue and exited the room, leaving behind a now very confused Grace Van Pelt.

It was a nice day, the sun was shining down on Sacramento. In fact, this was the first proper sunny day since the cold months of winter and seemingly everybody was outside and enjoyed the unusual warmth. He didn't really plan to take a walk, the idea just jumped into his mind and seemed like a welcoming alternative to the stale and dusty air inside the CBI headquarter. And it was. The birds in the air and the rattling of the wind blowing through the leafs sounded much better than the constant phone ringing and the tapping of fingers on computer keyboards. 

But still, as his feet carried him along the sidewalk, in between cars and beautiful houses, Jane could not find a solution to his problem. A look at his phone told him, that he had only a few more days to work something out. Only a few more days to find a birthday present for his favourite senior agent.

After an hour, Patrick was still strolling through the streets, passing by people who were busy or late or on their way to someone or something important. But he noticed how, inspite of all this pressure and stress, everybody seemed somehow happier, relaxed even. Like the sun had somehow shone inside their heads and filled their whole bodies with an endless amount of happiness.

He decided to head to one of the many shopping malls in Sacramento, desperatly hoping to find something in the windows of the countless shops. But after he walked it all the way through, from one end to the other, looking at every shop he thought Lisbon might find interesting, he sighed in defeat and turned around to make his way home again. The sun was already going down and he was sure he had about three missed calls from either one of his team members. 

As Jane was walking back, his eyes randomly scanned the titles of several books which were placed in the display of a book store. Suddenly he stopped and walked closer to the glass to get a better look at the one book which caught his attention. It was a hardcover book, blue with yellow and green painted flowers on it. The title of this book read "Things everyone should do at least once in their lifetime." A smile grew on Jane's face as his mind was working fiercly and finally, finally he knew what to give to Teresa Lisbon as her birthday present. 

~°~

Everybody was gathered around the large table inside the CBI headquarter and sang for Teresa who was seated in the middle, smiling widely at all the effort that was made just for her. After they finished singing, Rigsby, Van Pelt, Cho, Hightower and Jane clapped and cheered as she blew out the candles ontop of her birthday cake. Everyone cheered again and then it was time for Teresa to cut the cake. 

After everybody had had a piece, Rigsby even managed to eat two, Cho gave his boss a small box, wrapped up in brown wrapping paper. "Thanks, Cho.", Lisbon said with bright eyes and opened up her present. It turned out to be a small but really pretty bracelet for which he got another thank you. Next came Rigsby, then Van Pelt and then Hightower. Everbody got her a wonderful present and suddenly Jane felt a pinch of fear in his stomach. What if she didn't like his present? 

But he couldn't worry about that now since Teresa's beautiful green eyes were on him, looking expectantly. Her left eyebrow was sightly raised and she had that adorable half smile on her lips. He grinned back at her and simply lay out a piece of paper and a pen in front of her. 

Lisbon and everybody else in the room looked at him, surprised and confused. "Jane? What is this?" she asked and Jane's smile grew a little wider. "I spent alot of time thinking about what your present would be." he started and noticed the small hint of red on Lisbon's cheeks as she heard those words. "And finally", he continued, "a rather odd but, in my opinion, brilliant idea came to me." 

"Oh dear." whispered Rigsby under his breath but Jane was too excited and, most of all, too nervous to notice him. "I want you to write down seven things, that you always wanted to do when you were a child and, later on, in your teenage years, but never got the opportunity to actually do. And I will do my best to do all those things with you." 

The room was quiet. Anticipation started to build as everybody waited for the senior agent's response. After a few seconds, which seemed to strech like hours to Jane, a small smile formed on Teresa's lips which she tried to hide. But he saw it and a wave of relieve washed through his whole body. 

As soon as she regained her speech, Teresa stuttered "I- I don't really know what to say. Just that.. That's a pretty unusual present. But I thank you nevertheless and although I am not too sure about this I will give you the list tomorrow. Deal?" Patrick's face brightened up and he nodded his head, his blond curls bopping up and down as he did so. "Deal."


	2. 1. Brush A Pony's Mane

1\. Brush A Pony's Mane

The next day, just as promised, Lisbon placed a sheet of paper on Jane's chest who lay on his couch. His eyes opened and he reached for the list, extremely curious as to what she wrote down. He didn't even notice that he held his breath as he read silently.

1\. brush a pony's mane  
2\. bake my own brownies  
3\. camp on a rooftop  
4\. play a drinking game  
5\. learn how to juggle  
6\. get a tattoo  
7\. slow dance to my favourite song

Jane smiled and couldn't help but chuckle softly. That was her list, these were her wishes, her dreams since she was a kid and he couldn't really believe that they all fitted on such a small piece of paper. But then again, he only asked her to write down seven. He could only imagine how long that list would've been if he asked her to write down all of her childhood dreams. 

"Well?" Teresa's voice startled him and made him snap out of his thoughts. He looked up at her, her face was somehow closed up, defensive of what she just placed in his hands. After all these were her thoughts, intimate ones, too. Jane knew that if he would joke about the list now, his partner would snatch it right out of his hands and walk away and that was the last thing he wanted. 

So instead he bit his tounge, choked back the numerous jokes that only waited to come out of his mouth and smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Lisbon. To be honest with you, I wasn't too sure if you would actually do what I asked you to do but I am very happy you did so." The brunette blushed and immediately rolled her eyes. 

Inside, Jane chuckled at her half-hearted attempt to keep up her guard. "Well it was your present after all and I didn't want you to be upset." she said and he pretended to believe her. "Ah. Well I thank you for your utter kindness then, dear Lisbon. I'll have a look into your list and I will let you know as soon as I have a plan for it." The senior agent seemed satisfied with his reaction, and somewhat relieved that her consultant didn't give a snarky comment about how ridiculous some of her wishes were. 

"Fine." she replied and after some seconds of silence, in which Jane read through the list once more, she spoke again. "We have a case. Two women, murdered. Are you coming?" Without looking up Jane nodded. "Yup. Will be there in just a second." he said, his eyes still glued to the list and a plan forming slowly inside his head. "Good. I'll be waiting in the car." Lisbon cleared her throat and started to leave the room, clearly uncomfortable by his interest in her list. 

Just as she was about to stept out of the door a voice called from behind her. "Really, Lisbon? Brownies?" She froze and turned around, facing a smirking Patrick Jane who already got up from his couch. "I knew it. I knew you couldn't keep yourself from joking about it!" she hissed and he let out a small giggle. Then Jane put up his hands in defeat and managed to say in between laughter "Okay okay. I am sorry. I tried at least, didn't I?" 

With that Lisbon turned around and made her way through the corridor once again. But this time, a smile formed on her lips.

~°~

It was a long and particularly exhausting day for the whole team. They couldn't find the murderer and it seemed like there was nothing else to be done for this day so they had to give up in defeat and instead look forward to an evening of free time.

Teresa was just about to hop into her car as a well known voice made her halt. Jane was jogging in her direction to stop her from driving away, his right arm reached out in the air to get her attention. "Wait!" he shouted as he made his way up to her.

The agent sighed, the long and dreadful day clearly showing its effect, and waited for Jane to make his way over to her car. "What is it, Jane?" she asked, slightly annoyed by both her consultant and the unclosed case. "Are you having any plans for this afternoon?" Jane's voice was cheerful and she couldn't quite understand why.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do." Lisbon said and looked into Jane's eyes. "Eh!" he proclaimed, cocked his head and raised both his eyebrows and his right index finger. "Eating ice cream in front of the TV doesn't count." His boss sighed once again and this time in defeat. "Fine. Jane what do you want?" 

"Oh, you'll see." The man walked around the car and opened the door of the passenger seat. "It's a surprise." he then whispered loud enough for Teresa to hear and climbed into the car. She followed him, climbing behind the steering wheel and starting the engine. "Okay Jane, but if it has anything to do with magic I'll drive straight back home and leave you behind." 

~°~

Lisbon's car made its way through the streets of Sacramento, past big buildings and huge, expensive houses, past busy people and streetlights. Then, after an hour of driving through the city, they finally left it behind and, guided by Jane's directions, headed north. Teresa had no idea what her partner was up to but she has had enough experience with him to not question his motives. 

After another half of an hour of driving, they came to a small town, not yet a village but also not quite a regular city. The car was just passing by some kids who played next to the street with a ball when she noticed the sign on a lamp post. "Ranch" was all it said and slowly it dawned on her what the surprise might be. And as soon as she parked her car in front of a huge, old building made out of wood, she knew she was right. 

The house was beautiful, the old and rough appearance only giving it yet another inch of beauty. It was painted red, with green window frames and a huge, wooden door. Around the house there were many fences which created several fenced paddocks. And in each and every single one of those paddocks stood at least three horses. 

Jane waited for his partner to take in all of this, to look around and adjust to her new surroundings. And when she was done and when she smiled, he did so, too. He was so happy, so relieved that she liked it. That her grumpy mood didn't overshadow this moment and that she actually seemed to let herself relax into this new situation. 

Patrick started walking and Lisbon followed, still looking at all those horses and ponies and still smiling. "Patrick! Hello, it is so good to see you. After all these years." The old voice came out of nowhere and startled both of them but Jane quickly built up his guard again and started smiling even brighter. 

"Joe! It's good to see you too, how have you been?" he exclaimed and threw his hands around a rather chubby man who appeared next to him. The men hugged and Lisbon stood next to them, kind of lost and didn't really know what to do. "That's her then, eh?" the man asked and nudged his head at Teresa. "Joe, this is Teresa Lisbon. Lisbon, that's Joe Nelson. We both worked together for a long time before I started at the CBI." 

Joe reached out his hand and Lisbon shook it. "At the circus?" she asked Jane, some kind of irony in her voice but Patrick either didn't hear her or pretended he didn't and turned his attention back to Joe again. "Joe, you promised me a tame pony." The chubby man rubbed his hands over his stuble and nodded. 

The three of them proceeded to walk over to one of the paddocks which held a brown, rather small pony. "This", Joe announced as he opened the wooden door to the paddock and led the agent and her consultant inside, "is Lara. She is very friendly and patient. There have been more kids riding on her back than on any other pony on this farm." Lisbon walked up closer to the animal and smiled while gently running her hand over its neck. "Thanks Joe, we'll make sure to say goobye before we leave." Patrick said.

With that Joe left the two of them allone and Jane turned to face his boss who was still captured by the animal. "Jane, why are we here?" she asked while stroking over the long, dark mane. The pony didn't seem affected at all but kept its head down and eating the grass. "Your list, remember? The first thing on it said Brush A Pony's Mane. And that is what you're doing right now." the blond answered.

Teresa looked down on her hand and realised he was right. She had been right all along and now she couldn't help but smile as her fingers ran through the pony's long hair in a soothing rhythm. While she kind of lost herself in doing so, Jane stood and watched her. He noticed how incredibly gentle she touched the animal and he noticed how big her smile was. And that made him smile as well. 

After a few minutes of standing there like that, Lisbon began to recognize her surroundings again and she cleared her throat, clearly embarrassed that she let her soft side shine through. She patted the pony's neck once more and straightened up again, not looking at her partner. "Uhm, Jane, can we go now I really wanna get home before it gets dark." The consultant opened the paddock's door and held it open for her. Teresa walked out of it and Jane did too after he gently patted Lara's back to say goodbye. 

"Joe! We'll get going now. Thank you for your time." Jane thanked the man with a big smile and they hugged again. "It was a pleasure Patrick. Take care. Ma'am." He nodded at Lisbon and she mirrored his action, saying goodbye with a small smile. Jane and Lisbon then proceeded to walk over to Lisbon's car and both got in. 

After about an hour of driving in silence, Lisbon began to speak "I really liked that trip. It felt nice to be with a pony again." now she looked at Jane and smiled at him. He returned her smile. "Thanks, Jane." The man with the blond curls looked at his partner. "You're very welcome, Lisbon."


	3. 2. Bake My Own Brownies

2\. Bake My Own Brownies

It was a Saturday, a Saturday morning to be precises and that was why Lisbon wasn't very happy when Patrick Jane showed up in front of her house at 8 o'clock in the morning. She still wore the shirt-dress with her name on its back which she always wore to sleep in because it was big and comfortable and reminded her of her brothers. 

She woke up to the sound of some very stubborn knocking on the front door. At first, Teresa tried to ignore it and just go back to sleep. But after a few more seconds of loud knocking she groaned loudly and got up, ready to beat up whoever had the nerve to wake her up at such an hour and in such a way. 

While rubbing some sleep out of her eyes she unlocked and opened the door and revealed a beaming Jane. "Good morning, sunshine." he cheered. The senior agent rolled her eyes and immediately regretted even getting up. "What do you want, Jane? Do you know how early it is? What has gotten into you?" she complained and Patrick waved all her questions away and walked past her into her home, leaving behind a now rather confused and very angry Teresa Lisbon.

The consultant headed straight towards the kitchen and Teresa now realised the bag in his hand. "Jane. Can I get an answer as to why you more or less break into my house on a Saturday morning?" she tried again. "Eh, Lisbon. I didn't break in, you volunteerly opened the door for me and I took this as an invitation to enter your home." Patrick answered. "Volunteerly, yeah right." Lisbon muttered under her breath and the blond cocked his head in confusion. But the senior agent only smiled her pettiest smile and turned around to put on some clothes. 

As soon as she returned back into her kitchen, Jane already put some bowls on the small table. Lisbon also noticed other kitchen supplies like whisks or spoons but she was too tired to put the puzzle pieces together. So she simply sat down at the table and watched Jane search through her kitchen drawers. He opened and closed drawers, looked into every space he could find until he had all the things he needed, gathered on the kitchen table.

Then he grabbed the bag he brought with him, he placed it next to the other supplies and started to take out flour and sugar, butter and eggs, a bag of milk and a bar of chocolate. Meanwhile, Lisbon poured herself a cup of coffee and the caffeine was doing its work. Her mind cleared a bit and she noticed that Jane obviously wanted to bake something, hence all the stuff which was sprawled in her kitchen. 

"Jane, does this have to do with that list I wrote?" she asked, already knowing the answer. He would never rush into her house like that just to bake. The blond looked up and smiled sheepishly. "Lisbon, your bright mind surprises me every time." The agent rolled her eyes in annoyance but couldn't help but smile the tiniest smile. "I hope you know how to bake brownies because I surely don't." she joked and stepped closer to the table to look at everything. Patrick looked down at the table as well and shrugged. "How hard can it be?"

~°~

"Wait, do I have to put in the flour already?" Teresa's dark hair was held back in a pony tail but one strand of hair got loose and was now in her face. She tried to remove it, frantically blowing air out of her mouth and at the hair strand. But because of the sweat that already coated her skin, it stayed exactly where it was. "Wait, let me.." Jane said and moved his hand up to stroke the strand back behind her ear. She didn't really know what to do at first, just kinda froze in the middle of her movement. It all went by so quickly she didn't even have the chance to react in any way. But she could feel his warm fingers against her skin, even after they were long gone. Teresa smiled to herself, not knowing that Jane saw it from the corner of his eyes. 

A shiver ran down his back and he had a hard time not to stare at her in awe. She was beautiful, he rarely saw her like that. All loosened up and relaxed in casual clothes and with a smile on her lips. Every time he had the chance to see her like that he memorized her, the way she looked, how she talked, even her smell. He savoured every single one of these details so he could remember them when he had troubles falling asleep. Imagining her really helped. Of course, he knew it was kinda creepy and he could never tell her but she calmed him down. She made him feel less guilty, less cold, less like a monster. 

"Jane. What do I do now? Do I put the flour in already?" Her laughing voice made him snap out of his toughts and he looked her in the eyes now. And he smiled because she looked extra confused in this mess of baking supplies, sugar and heat from the oven. "Yes, you can put it in now, Lisbon. See? The eggs and the sugar have been mixed long enough now. It's creamy and that's why you can put in the flour now." he explained patiently. Patrick watched his partner fondly as she twisted her arms in an unnatural way to pour the flour into the bowl without causing too much of a mess. 

Finally, after they managed to mix everything together properly they filled the dough into the form and put everything in the oven. Lisbon sat down on a chair, visibly exhausted by the process that lay behind her. "Oh come on, Lisbon. It wasn't that hard. You did a good job!" her partner complimented her with a slight hint of amusement in his voice to which she only made a face in return. "Now, no need to act all bratty. Help me to clean up instead, after all I wasn't the only one the cause all this mess." Patrick stated while he looked around the kitchen. "I mean, look at this chaos. It's like-" 

He didn't have the chance to tell her what it looked like as something white hit the back of his head and coated his whole head and his face. Patrick coughed and turned around to look at Teresa who got up and walked over to the piles of flour which could be found anywhere in the kitchen. "Oh no, you didn't." was all he said as he cocked his head. His boss smiled a smile that was a notch too sweet to actually be friendly. Jane grabbed a fist full of flour and smiled too. "That means war." 

With that he threw the content of his hand in the brunette's direction who ran away giggling instantly. But he wouldn't give up that easily. Jane grabbed another hand full of the white powder and walked in the direction of the laughing agent. "Jane. No!" she demanded with the most serious tone she could manage as the consultant walked up closer to her. "Jane, I warn you." she tried again to persuade him but he didn't listen. Instead he wrapped an arm around the woman's shoulders and poured the flour all over her head and into her hair. 

Lisbon squealed and tried to push his arm away but he was too strong. So she had no other chance than to cover her face with her hands to prevent the powder from falling into her eyes. After all the flour left Patrick's hand he didn't remove his arm from her shoulders for a few moments. Instead he stayed as close to her as he was now, inhaling the smell of her hair and enjoying the warmth of her body against hers. But before she could say anything, he let his arm fall back down next to his body and turned away to clean up the kitchen. 

The agent was confused, of course she noticed how he let his arm around her shoulders longer than he actually had to and she also noticed how he closed his eyes for a brief second. But she told herself to not be so silly and to focus on cleaning up the kitchen floor instead. He wouldn't think of her in that way. She was sure of that. After all, he was still very much heartbroken after his wife and daughter died. After all, he still wore his ring. Lisbon shook her head slightly and concentrated on getting every last sprinkle of dough from the kitchen tiles. 

~°~

After the kitchen blinked again, the brownies, too, were done baking and a sweet smell of chocolate wandered through the house. Patrick put on the two huge oven mittens and took the form out of the oven. After he cut the brownies into pieces he placed them on a plate. In the mean time, Lisbon set up the table and brewed some coffee for herself. The water for Jane's tea was still heating up on the stove. 

The consultant placed the plate with the brownies on the table and poured himself a cup of tea. Then he sat down opposite of his partner who was already sipping on her hot coffee. "Mmm, these look delicious." She said happily and grabbed one of the brownies. Jane smiled and did so as well. "Well let's hope they taste just as delicious." And with that both of them took a bite. 

Lisbon was surprised that the self-made brownies actually tasted quite good. Sure, they could've been better, the dough still wasn't completely baked, but every bite she took tasted delicious. So she ate four of them. After they both stuffed themselves with brownies, Jane leaned back and placed his hands on his stomach. "I am so full I might burst." he moaned and Lisbon laughed. "Don't you dare bursting, we only just cleaned this kitchen." 

The blond haired man chuckled and looked at his boss. "Well I gotta get going now, Lisbon. But I am very glad we did this. Who knows what other adventures we will experience during the journey through this list." Patrick got up and smiled. Lisbon didn't bother to get up. She knew he would find his way out of her house on his own. "It was a lot of fun." she confessed with a nod. "Good bye. Have a good day, we'll see each other tomorrow in the office." Jane shouted as he walked out of the kitchen and towards the door. "Bye." Teresa yelled back and smiled. Yes, tomorrow in the office. But it was still a long time until tomorrow and she wasn't even sure if he would actually act as if this has happened today.


	4. 3. Camp On A Rooftop

3\. Camp On A Rooftop 

Teresa was wrong with her assumption. The next day in the office was like any other. But she noticed that Jane smiled at her in a different way than before. He would sip his tea, stare off into the distance and suddenly smile. Then his eyes would search for hers and if they found them his smile would grow even bigger. 

The consultant also noticed how his boss would unknowingly run her fingers through her hair just like she did yesterday to get the flour out of it. And when he saw that he'd smile, a very small and secretive smile that nobody else could see because this was only a moment between the two of them. No one else was with them while they were baking, so why should anyone be with him when he was thinking about it?

But people decided to kill other people and murder after murder landed on Lisbon's desk and, unfortunately for both of them, everyday life settled in again, routine fought back into their heads and days and soon the baking was a distant memory in both of their brains. 

One night, Jane lay in his bed. It was around 3 am in the morning and he couldn't sleep just like many nights before. The blond tossed and turned in his bed until the sound of rattling sheets annoyed him so much he had to get up and leave the bed to not get mad. He walked over to his window and moved the curtains a bit so he could look outside. 

He could see nothing but a few street lamps, illuminating the street. In none of the other houses was light and he didn't blame them. He'd rather be asleep now, too. Jane enjoyed the silence which lay over the neighbourhood like a thick, warm blanket and his eyes wandered up to the sky. It was black but full of millions of sparkling stars. And somehow this was comforting to him. He never really took much interest in astronomy and stars and the universe for that matter but at this very moment he suddenly felt the urge to read all about this infinte and strange thing called outer space. 

The consultant left his bedroom, a small sigh escaping his lips because he now fully knew he wouldn't be able to sleep anymore this night. But the excitement and this sudden burst of interest and curiosity let adrenaline shoot through his body and he didn't feel tired at all anymore. 

This was the night he sat in front of his computer and read about the stars, the signs they were forming and about the planets and all their interesting facts. Next to his computer he had placed the list which Teresa gave him and his eyes fell upon the third point. "Camp on a rooftop." he mumbled and an idea formed in his head.

~°~ 

About a week later, Patrick finally had it all planned out in his head. Teresa, on the other hand, had no clue whatsoever as to what she would be experiencing this night. She was busy with a current case of homicide which wasn't really tricky but unnerving nevertheless since the suspect kept disappearing to escape the punishment of ten years in prison which awaited him. 

So it wasn't really surprising that the senior agent was rather exhausted as she let herself fall down onto her couch after a long day. She would never admit so but her mood immediately lightened up as her consultant entered her office with a smile and a piece of cloth in his hands. "Hello Lisbon. As I can see you had a rather exhausting and long day today, eh?" he said with a smirk and she rolled her eyes. "What a sharp mind you have." she replied sarcastically which made Jane chuckle. 

"Na na, no need to get all ironic on me. I have a surprise for you." he announced and held up the black piece of clothing he held in his right hand. "What is it?" she asked with a slight hint of concern in her voice as she got up and walked up to him. The blond smiled and made her turn around. "Oh you'll see." was all he said as he wrapped the cloth around Teresa's eyes so she was blindfolded. 

"Is this one of your tricks where I make myself look like and idiot in front of everyone in the end?" the senior agent asked and Jane chuckled again as he placed his hands firmly on her shoulders to guide her safely to the stairs which led to the roof. "No way, Lisbon. You know I'd never do such a thing." he said and his boss made a disbelieving sound. "Yeah right." 

"Hush now." he tried to calm her down as he guided her up the stairs and outside, on top of the CBI headquarter. "Jane? Where are we? It's windy out here." Instead of an answer Patrick led her a few steps forward and then removed the blindfold from before her eyes. "Tada!" he said excitedly as he let his partner take it all in.

There was a tent set up on this roof. In front of it was a small bowl to start a bonfire and a few stacks of wood right beside it. Jane did his best to decorate the place, he bought fairy lights and hung them all over the small wall which marked the edge of the roof. A box full with drinks, marshmallows and a few sausages was also placed next to the bowl. 

Patrick moved in front of Teresa to see her reaction and what he saw pleased him very much. She was delighted. Her eyes were glowing and she couldn't stop smiling. Slowly she moved closer to the scenery and took a closer look. The smile still was on her face and her eyebrows were raised high up. "Jane." was all she could say since she was completely overwhelmed. 

And then she looked at him and he almost couldn't handle it. He had never seen her look so happy and shocked and surprised and full of light before. And all because of him. He didn't remember the last time someone looked at him like that. Even with Angela it was a long time ago. Patrick smiled back, of course he did. How could anybody not smile with such a beaming person near them? And for a short while they just looked at each other and smiled. And they both felt goosebumps all over their bodies but didn't dare to show it.

"What do you think?" Jane asked and Lisbon laughed. "It's wonderful! Did you do all of this on your own?" she asked, still gazing at the fairy lights glowing in the dark which slowly overcame the light of day. "Meh." Jane waved her question away and walked over to her to start the bonfire. While he was doing so, Lisbon opened the box and took out the sausages and marshmallows.

~°~

After a very simple but delicious dinner with an amazing view over Sacramento, both of them sat on the edge of the roof and let their feet dangle down. Teresa wasn't too sure about this position and had an arm safely wrapped around Patrick's arm. She kind of clawed her fingers into him but he didn't even think of complaining. After a while, Teresa relaxed and loosened up the tight grip on her partner's arm. The skyline of Sacramento was breathtaking. All those lights and cars moving what seemed liked a million worlds away.

There was only the two of them on this roof and they both felt the uniqueness of this moment. Patrick gazed up to the stars and after a while his boss did the same thing. Unfortunately, not a lot of them could be seen due to the mass of lights coming from the city. But a few of them managed to shine through and Patrick's hand reached up to point at one particular one. "Do you see this star?" he asked his partner and she noded. "That is a part of the biggest star sign in the whole world. The universe." 

Lisbon rolled her eyes at this extraordinarily bad joke. "Ha ha." she mimicked a laugh and the consultant chuckled. "Okay. That may have been a lie. But this one, right next to it, can you see it?" Teresa moved closer to him, without even noticing, to get a better look at the star Jane was pointing at. Jane held his breath for a second because he wasn't prepared for her to be so close. "Yeah. What about it?" Her voice brought him back into reality and he explained to her everything he knew about this star. And about the other ones that could be seen. 

After a while he ran out of stars to talk about so he continued talking about the planets, the solar system and the infinity of the universe. And all the while through, Lisbon listened, her eyes were moving from his eyes to the night sky and back to him again. She was impressed by his knowledge and tried her best to memorize some of the things he taught her. 

It didn't take long for the air to become rather chilly and although it was summer, it got too cold to continue sitting on the edge of the roof. So they moved to the tent. Inside there already were two sleeping bags which completely filled the tents floor. Lisbon looked at her consultant. "So we're supposed to sleep in one tent. Together. And how am I even going to sleep I don't have any changing clothes with me." Patrick just chuckled at her and crawled inside the tent. "It won't kill you to sleep next to me for a night and we will wake up early in the morning anyway because we will be freezing so you can drive home, get changed and everything will be fine. Now, come on, hop in." He smiled and patted the sleeping bag next to him. 

And while the brunette crawled inside the tent, Jane kicked off his shoes and wrapped himself into the sleeping bag. He then watched Lisbon who did the same, a bit clumsier though, until they both lay inside their tent, warmed by their sleeping bags. "I'm still cold." Lisbon muttered and Jane rolled his eyes. Then he took a deep breath and, with all the courage he could gather, he shuffled closer to his boss. 

"Jane?" was all she could say because she had a hard time herself to act like this situation did not make her feel very warm suddenly and like it did not make her heart beat twice as fast. "Body warmth is the best way to prevent the body from getting too cold." Jane stated in a quiet voice and suddenly he was so close to Teresa that he touched her through his sleeping bag. She didn't move away, in fact, she shuffled closer, too. 

They lay there, in the dark, body touching body and could feel the other one's heat radiation off their body and both of them were too afraid to do anything more than that. But they were happy and soon fell asleep with a smile on their lips and the feeling of a loved one nearby.


	5. 4. Play A Drinking Game

4\. Play A Drinking Game 

It took Jane a while to recover from the night on the rooftop. After all, he wasn't the youngest anymore and his back made him pay for sleeping on hard concrete for one full night. But it had been worth it. Every little pain he experienced in the last three days was worth the night he shared with his partner on that rooftop. He imagined her to feel the same. At least when it came to their physical condition. He told himself to not get his hopes up but still Jane couldn't help but think about those moments they shared. Teresa, face shining brightly upon seeing the decorated roof. Eyes, open widely while watching the stars. Body, closely pressed against his own in the tent. 

Oh the things that could have happened. Looking back, he could slap himself for being such a coward. If only he had been braver, if only he had dared to take her hand, look her in the eyes and tell her what he wanted to tell her for about three years now. Tell her he loved her, more than he could ever admit to himself and that he wanted to be with her, to give her a life full of happiness and love. But he missed his chance, once again he backed away and he hid behind his arrogant mask and he hated himself for this. Still, he hoped that another chance would come around soon. There were still four things left to do on Teresa's list and if things go as planned, his partner will know about his feelings by the end of the list. If. 

As soon as he felt that his body was capable of doing anything else than aching all day long, Patrick started planning his next activity. A drinking game. Why did she want to play a drinking game? Because she didn't have the opportunity to do so in her teenage years since she had to take care of her brothers and run the household all at once, he answered himself. Sighing, he let his fingers run through his blond curls. Admittedly, Jane could handle a lot of alcohol. He had had his experiences with excessive drinking through his own teenage years and he needed more than six drinks to feel drunk. But he stopped drinking, he hated this feeling of losing control just as much as he loved it and after one night of particularly much alcohol he decided to cut down on drinking. 

Now, he wasn't scared of getting drunk. Not at all, Patrick knew when to stop and he could control himself. But he was a bit concerned that he might say something wrong. Something Teresa shouldn't hear just yet. Something he absolutely wanted to tell her sober and in full controll of his senses. On the other side, the imagine of a drunk Teresa Lisbon made him smile and immediately forget his concerns. It was definetly worth the risk if he got to see his friend intoxicated. Jane smiled and got up from his couch. He knew a store just around the corner with the best vodka in the whole of Sacramento. 

~°~

"Don't plan anything for tonight. 8 pm. Your place." Teresa looked down at the message from her consultant and shook her head slowly. Sometimes she didn't get him. She probably never will fully understand him. But now wasn't the time to figure this man out since a murderer was waiting for her to chase him. Or her, they'll find out. Lisbon put her phone away and got up from her chair. The text message was forgotten for now. 

It was around 7 pm as the senior agent finally parked her car in front of her house. She was tired but a small feeling of triumph and satisfaction spread in her stomach. Her team caught the murderer, it was a woman, before she could kill somebody else. They did such good work that even her boss praised her and the others. Aditionally, Lisbon finished off all her paperwork which meant that she wouldn't have to do anything at home this evening. To sum it up, Teresa was very pleased with herself. The fact that Patrick would come over in about an hour made here crack a small smile as she hopped out of her car and unlocked the front door of her home. 

Her mind wandered back to the night on the rooftop and how close she had felt to him. If she'd believe in those things she'd say it was magical. But her mind worked rationally and that's why she didn't allow herself to think anymore about how her stomach flipped while sitting so close to him and how she had to close her eyes and breathe deeply to control herself while laying next to him in that tent. And as Lisbon put her bag and the keys down another thought captured her head. Should she change clothes? Put some make up on? Maybe take a quick shower? And in the middle of those thoughts she stopped herself. That wasn't her, she had never worried too much about her appearance. Sure, she always took care of her body but she never dressed up in a special way or put on special make up to impress somebody. Especially not a man. And here she was, worrying about what clothes may look better on her than the ones she was wearing. And all because of him.

~°~

Jane was a bit late, because he wasn't too satisfied with how his hair looked but after ten minutes spent in front of the mirror he decided to just leave it and go. As Lisbon opened the door for him he smiled and greeted her before he walked inside just like it was his home. The blond walked straight towards the living room where he put a bottle of vodka and some orange juice on the coffee table and grinned at his boss who entered the room after him. Lisbon raised an eyebrow. "Orange juice?" she asked. Jane looked up and shrugged. "Well yeah, I thought maybe vodka shots don't taste too well. But we will do some, don't you worry." And with that he winked at her and walked out of the room to get some glasses. Meanwhile, the dark haired woman let herself fall onto her couch. 

She wasn't too worried about this evening. She could handle alcohol, at least some of it. Since her dad was an alcoholic, she always felt kind of opposed to alcohol. In her teenage years she simply didn't have the time to drink and when she got older she occasionally had one or two drinks in her free time. Drinking for her actually started when she got her first job at the CBI. Her former partner Bosco and her would drink a shot after every successfully closed case. But it never really got more than that. She had never been smashed. Tipsy, to say the least, but never completely drunk. 

"Alright." Jane's voice sounded through her living room as he came back, two glasses in his hands, which he set down on the coffee table. "I suppose you don't know any drinking games so I will suggest one. Two truths, one lie." Teresa had no idea what that game was and looked expectantly at her partner who currently was busy making himself comfortable on her couch. After Jane managed to do that he started to explain the game to her while pouring a vodka shot for his friend and himself. "You say three things about yourself. Two of them have to be true and one has to be a lie. Then, I have to guess which one is untrue. If I'm right you have to drink, if I'm wrong I have to drink. It's as simple as that." With that he handed Teresa her drink and clinked his glass against hers. "To a fun night." he cheered and they both downed the vodka. 

"Okay, okay. It's my turn." The room was filled with laughter and Teresa was laying on her couch now, she was laughing loosely about something Jane just said and nearly spilled her drink. Her stomach felt warm from the alcohol and she felt tipsy. Not drunk but if she kept going like that she was definetly getting there. "I once cut the underwear of my brother in half because I was mad at him. I have been a member of our church choir. I once played the clarinet." Lisbon leaned back and looked at her friend with a smirk. Jane, who felt the alcohol as well, not as much as Lisbon but still, thought about it for a second before he announced "You never played the clarinet. I can't imagine that." Lisbon started to giggle as she told him that she actually did play it in high school. "No way. I never would have thought that. I always thought you're more of a trumpet person." His smirk spread over his whole face. Teresa slapped his shoulder playfully. "Shut up and drink."

After a few more rounds and a few more gulps of alcohol they both felt rather intoxicated. Lisbon much more than Jane. She now giggled uncontrollably and swayed back and forth whenever she moved. Patrick watched her in awe. He'll probably never see her like that again, so free, so loosened up. That was why he memorized every bit of her in that moment. He didn't want to forget her drunk self. "I'm tired." Teresa stuttered, finished her drink, put it down on the table rather clumsily and lay down her head on Patrick's thigh, who all of the sudden felt very much sober. He looked down at her beautiful face, her eyes were closed and her hair framed her features. Carefully he reached out and brushed a strand of loose hair out of her face and with that she opened her eyes and looked at him with a smile. Jane smiled back and held his breath as his partner reached out herself and her hand clumsily carressed his cheek. "Why do you have to be like that?" she whispered and Jane almost didn't hear her because he was so surprised by her behaviour. "What do you mean?" he asked and leaned down in order to hear her more clearly. Teresa smiled another smile, a sad one this time, as she said quietly. "So perfect." 

Patrick's heart stopped for a second and he didn't really believe his ears. Did he really just hear that? But before he could ask his boss what she meant with those words he recognized a quiet snoring and as he looked down he noticed that she'd fallen asleep. A smile spread across his face and he couldn't help but gently run his fingers over her head. She was beautiful. Carefully he placed her head on the couch, got up and found a blanket which he spread over her body. Then, he packed the bottle of alcohol and the orange juice back into his bag and put the glasses back into the drawers after washing and drying them. With a last look at her he turned off the lights and left her house. Since he still felt the alcohol inside of him he didn't drive, he put the bag in the backseat of his car and started to walk home. It wasn't too far away and he needed time to think anyway. And while he was walking, the dark wrapped itself around him and he hoped, with every fibre of his being, that she meant what she said back there and that she also meant it sober.


	6. 5. Learn How To Juggle

5\. Learn How To Juggle 

The next day, Lisbon's head was aching and she felt as if a thousand little needles poked into her skin. She wasn't used to hangovers, she hardly ever had any, and it didn't really help that she had to go to work and deal with both brutal murderers and her stinging head. When she woke up that morning she did not really remember when she fell asleep on that couch or who put the blanket around her shoulders. She assumed that it had to be Jane who did so since no one else had been around and a warm feeling spread inside of her. This, however, did not last long because a sudden ping of nausea and anxiety washed over her. What did she do? Did she say anything? 

She couldn't quite remember. She knew that they played a game, they laughed a lot and at some point Teresa ended up leaning her head against Jane's shoulder for a second. But she did, for the love of God, not remember what happened afterwards. Sighing, she got up, slowly to avoid feeling sick and walked over into her kitchen to drink a glass of water. The cool liquid soothed her raw throat and she felt a slight bit better than before. Then, she made her way to her bathroom to take a shower, refresh and then get ready for her job. 

"Good morning, Lisbon. God, you look terrible." Patrick's voice was amused and the senior agent rolled her eyes at him. "You too, Jane." And it was true, bags were starting to form under his eyes, his hair was messier than normally and he looked a bit ragged in general. "How was your morning?" the consultant mocked her. Lisbon shot a glare at him. "Not so well, if it weren't for the pain killers I swallowed, my head would be exploding. What about you?" Jane chuckled quietly and followed her into her office. "Oh, the headache wasn't the worst part for me. Actually, I just couldn't fall asleep last night and although I have my experience with sleepless nights they are just half as fun drunk." When he saw that a smile appeared on the agent's face, he smiled as well, satisfied with himself. 

~°~

Weeks passed, their shared experience with alcohol became a memory and the well known routine of daily life settled in with both of them. Other than the usual stolen glances, teasing jokes or innocent touches nothing really happened and that was why Teresa more or less forgot about the list which still wasn't completed. Jane, however, did not forget and because he wanted to give his partner some time to accomodate to her daily life after so many unusual activities, he took his time to plan every detail of every point on that list that was still left. And when he finally had a complete set of plans in his head, he decided to act. 

"Lisbon! Come get in the car." He shouted before he even entered her office. The senior agent looked up from her desk. "Why?" she asked, her voice a bit drifted off, her mind still burried deeply in her current case. The consultant smiled secretly. "You gotta wait and see." Lisbon rolled her eyes before guiding them back onto the files in front of her again. Suddenly, something hit her on her head and she let out a loud "Ouch!" It was more of a surprised exclaim than a hurt one. Nevertheless, she grabbed the small ball that just hit her head and glared at the door where a very much chuckling Patrick Jane was leaning. 

He didn't expect her to react that fast though and the ball that was now thrown back at him hit his shoulder. Dramatically, Jane pressed his hand against his shoulder and moaned and shouted out in exaggerated pain. "I was shot. Help... me..." With those words he sank to the floor and, after a few very amateure dying movements, lay perfectly still. His boss watched the show in amusement before she got up and walked around her desk to look at him. "Very nice. We just need to get you a skull and you could be the next Hamlet." she stated, sarcasm dripping from her voice. The consultant squinted through his right eye and couldn't help but smile. Then he got up, with Lisbon's help, and picked up the ball which hit him earlier. Still smiling, he let it disappear in his right pocket and held out one hand to guide Lisbon to her car.

~°~

The air was vibrating with an unexpected heat wave and the yellow, dry grass rustled as the dark car rolled over it. It stopped in the shade of a big, old tree which was the center of a wide field. Patrick got out and heavy, heated air hit him. While he lifted up his hand to cover his eyes from the sun that burned down on him, he let his eyes wander over the field of grass and bushes and smiled. Then he turned around and watched his partner do the same before she turned her attention to him again. "Where are we?" she asked and the consultant's smile grew a slight bit. "I used to come here a lot when I was younger. Nobody knew this place existed, not even my dad. I found it one day while I angrily ran away from home. We set up the carnival about six miles from here and still no one ever found me." 

While he explained, Jane walked over to a rather big stone that lay in between high patches of grass. As he sat down, he continued. "It was nice here. Calm. There was no one who wanted me to function, to be a certain way. I could be myself here." Lisbon had followed him, silently listening to his story, uncertain of what to do and why he chose to show her this place that meant so much to him. She watched him as his eyes were fixating an invisible spot in the distance, his mind wandered back to his past. And after a few more seconds in silence he smiled again and looked at her. His eyes were beaming. "I taught myself how to juggle here. And that's why we're here. But you'll have it much easier than me, you have a brilliant teacher by your side." 

Chuckling, Jane got up and fished the ball out of his pocket again. He threw it in the air and all of the sudden two more balls appeared in his hands and he started to juggle them right there. Lisbon watched him in awe, it seemed so easy, so calm and simple. She would never be able to do it the way Jane did it, she was sure of that. Just at that moment he stopped his movements, caught the balls mid air and smiled at his boss. "Your turn." was all he said as he dropped the balls in Lisbon's hand who looked at him with a mixture of despair and utter disbelief. He had a very hard time to hold back the laughter that tickled in his throat but he eventually managed to bite it back. Jane took a very quick, deep breath and placed his hands around Lisbon's. Both of them ignored the electric jolts that ran through their arms at the innocent touch, hoping the other one wouldn't notice. 

"Look, all you have to do is throw one ball in the air. As soon as it is at its highest point, you throw the one in your left hand and immediately after the third one in your right hand while you catch the first one with your left hand. It's all about timing and finding the right rhythm." Teresa did her best to understand what he was saying but the warm feeling of Patrick's hands around her own made her mind black out. "It's alright, I'll help you." His voice made it's way through the fog in her head and she forced herself to concentrate. Cautiously, she did what her consultant told her to do, Jane's hands guiding her movements, and actually managed to throw all of the balls in the air. However, she only caught one of them and the others landed on the dusty ground. "Yes, that was not even bad! Now try to actually catch them before they fall down." Lisbon shot a glare at the giggling Patrick Jane and tried it again. This time, with his help, she managed to catch two of the balls and a small feeling of pride rushed through her body. "Good job!" he praised her.

All of the sudden he let go of her hands and walked around her. He stopped behind her and wrapped his arms around her from behind, placed his hands on hers again. "J-Jane. Wh-What are you doing?" Lisbon stuttered. He was so close. She could feel his chest pressed against her back, his chin gently rested on her shoulder and his warm breath tickled her left cheek. "This way I can help you better." Jane murmured and his low voice let a shiver run down her spine. Lisbon briefly closed her eyes and breathed in a bit heavier than normal. Then she opened them and once again tried to juggle the three balls. 

And after countless tries Lisbon finally managed to keep all of them in the air and simultaneously catching them again and without moving her gaze away from the flying balls she laughed loudly, happy and proud of her achievement. Patrick, still behind her, laughed as well and clapped his hands as he watched his boss beaming and smiling. "See? I knew you could do it!" he cheered. And in the heat of the moment and without thinking he leaned down and pressed his lips against Teresa's cheek. The senior agent froze in her tracks and the balls landed on the floor once again. Her whole face tingled, she could still feel his warm lips against her face. 

"I- I'm sorry, Lisbon. I-" Patrick started to stutter as he realized what he just did. Wide-eyed, he moved away from her and blushed out of embarrassment. "N-No. It's okay. Don't worry." His boss was at loss of words as well and both of them kneeled down to pick up the balls. Their hands brushed and they quickly pulled them back. Neither dared to look at the other and they walked back to the car silently. The car ride home was in silence as well and it wasn't a comfortable one. Patrick cursed himself for losing control, for being so silly, for ruining everything and Teresa fought with herself whether she should send him a sign that she liked it or just brush it off and ignore it. And as he stopped in front of her house to drop her off, Lisbon looked at Jane for a few seconds. 

"Thank you." was all she said, a smile spread on her lips as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, too, before getting out of the car and walking to her front door without turning back. Jane sat there and watched her disappearing into her house. Afterwards, he needed some minutes before starting the car again and driving home himself. His cheek was a burning sensation of tingles and he could not help but smile for the rest of the day.


	7. 6. Get A Tattoo

6\. Get A Tattoo

Since the day Teresa Lisbon learned how to juggle, her team noticed the thing that was going on between their boss and her consultant. Of course they have noticed before, they have been pretty obviously in love with each other, at least in the eyes of Grace Van Pelt, Wayne Rigsby and Kimball Cho. But from that particular day on they weren't as secretive anymore. There was a lot of teasing going on. Exchanged glances that lasted just a few seconds too long to be meant in a friendly way. Innocent touches, hands on backs or bumps with shoulders that happened just a slight bit too often to be as innocent as they were meant to be. All in all, they flirted with each other and everyone who had eyes and at least some sense for the human mind could see that. 

Jane and Lisbon, however, despite of the obvious signs they were sending each other, did not quite dare to believe that the other one might feel the same way yet. That was why when Jane whispered a "Tonight. 5 pm. Your place." in her ear she tried her best to ignore the shiver that ran over her whole body and told herself that this was just about her list and nothing else. He was just doing his duty, giving her the best birthday present she has every received. As soon as that list ends he'll go back to his problems, his thoughts again and will only spend half as much of the time with her as he did currently. Lisbon swallowed hard and forced that thought to grow bigger in her head. She had to make sure not to get her hopes up, she knew how horribly wrong that could go. But all this focusing on building up her guard meant nothing as soon as she risked one look at him, standing there. He was glowing,  his hair was shining in the light, his face was beaming and so were his eyes. And then his eyes found hers and for a matter of a second the right corner of his mouth rose and everything she ever told herself not to do was forgotten. 

Lisbon couldn't help but smile back and then looked down on the ground, cursing herself mentally for being such a child. Patrick noticed her behaviour and smirked, his boss was extremely adorable and if he could, all he would do would be watching her. While examining the cold, dead body on the ground in front of them she had a hard time to focus on her work because of that gorgeous set of hair bouncing around and that charming smile knocking her out everytime it was directed at her. And deep inside her mind Teresa was shaking her head at herself, surprised about how much she let a man control her head.

~°~ 

Teresa Lisbon was trying very hard to read a book but couldn't quite make her mind concentrate on reading and understanding the words on the pages. Her eyes constantly flickered over to the watch on the wall and every time they did so she shook her head in disappointment of herself. She would never admit that to herself or to anyone but deep inside she was excited and very happy to see him again. Teresa couldn't wait to see what he had planned and she just wanted to be in his presence again. Being near him made her feel a certain way she hadn't been feeling for a long time. Butterflies started to do sommer saults in her stomach and her body tingled when he touched her. The way he talked and moved and simply the way he behaved made her smile and time always passed way too fast when spent with him.

Of course, those feelings didn't develop during the last few days. She knew him for about 8 years now and she would lie if she'd say that his charm haven't had any effect on her in the years she worked with him. Jane knew what he, his words and actions could do to a woman and he certainly knew what they could do to his boss and it was only because she actually started to show signs of liking him back, that he thought and sometimes even got anxious about his actions. Basically, before both of them realised their feelings for the other one, flirting was so much easier.

A familiar knock on the door startled her and made her snap out of her thoughts. Teresa shook her head while she got up. She even knew him by the way he knocked on her door, this was getting ridiculous. "Hello Jane." she greeted him after she opened the door and her consultant smiled back at her, a paper bag in his right hand. "What a wonderful day, Lisbon." was all the man sighed as he stepped into his partner's house. Immediately, he walked into her living room, behaving just like he has moved around this house for ever. Lisbon had to surpress a smile upon seeing him like that. She closed the door behind him and then followed Jane into her living room where he currently was taking out things from his bag. 

A scissor, some towels, a cloth. Jane looked up from his bag and smiled at Lisbon. "Would you be so kind and bring me a glass of water, please?" he asked in a sweet voice and of course Lisbon did what he asked her to do in a matter of seconds. As soon as she came back from her kitchen, with two glasses filled with water, one for Jane and one for herself, she settled both of them down on the table and sat on the couch. Expectantly, Lisbon looked at her partner who was sitting down next to her, his eyes firmly on the things he spread on her couch table. "So?" the senior agent's eyebrows were raised as she said that word, filled with excitement and confusion.

Jane took his time to answer. He leaned back a bit, then he leaned forward again, took a sip from one of the two glasses and finally he turned his attention and his body towards Teresa. "You wrote on your list that you wanted to get a tattoo when you were younger. I can very much imagine that actually, Teresa Lisbon in her teenage years, being fed up with her duties and the rules. Just wanting to do something forbidden for once. But of course you never dared to." Lisbon had to look away for a second to avoid blushing. She hated it when he was right. Jane smirked as he continued. "However, you never actually did it, which means you either weren't brave enough or you simply didn't have the time to do it and eventually postponed it until the time was right. But since then, time has never really been right, eh?" 

"I am not too sure if you still want a tattoo and even if you do want one, I am fairly sure it would be a completely different design than what you would have chosen 20 years ago. Therefore, I have prepared something for you that will make you be able to try out having a tattoo but at the same time being able to get rid of it whenever you want to." Patrick's hand disappeared in the brown paper bag and when it appeared again it held several packs of temporary tattoos. Lisbon didn't quite know what to say. And while she struggled to find words, Jane already ripped open the first package. "Which one do you like best?" he excitedly asked her and the senior agent smiled and leaned forward to take a closer look at the tattoos.

They were really close now, their shoulders touched and so did their legs. She could smell his aftershave and he could feel the warmth that radiated off her. Both of them enjoyed this very much and purposely pretended to look at the tattoos for longer than they normally would. "I think this one." she finally said and turned her head so she could look at her consultant. Jane turned his head as well and their noses almost touched as he said "Yeah?" Lisbon's finger was pointing at a simple drawing of a bouquet of flowers. She nodded with a small smile on her face. They both looked each other in the eyes for a few more seconds before Jane snapped out of it and quickly turned away to pick up the scissor on the table. Teresa couldn't quite avoid to blush and felt a wave of disappointment washing through her at his sudden disinterest. Mentally, she scolded herself for thinking something like that. 

"You can think about where you want to put it while I'm cutting it out." the consultants cheery voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Right, okay." she mumbled while rolling up the sleeve of her right hand. Jane noticed and stopped in the middle of his actions. "Please don't tell me you want to put it on your wrist." he said, his eyebrows furrowed. "W-What? Why? You said I could put it anywhere and that's where I want to put it so what's wrong with that?" Teresa's voice got higher than normally as she tried to justify herself and held back her laughter at the same time. Jane shook his head slowly . "It's just that the wrist might be the most cliché body part to put a tattoo on." Lisbon chuckled as her partner turned to her again, pressed the tattoo on her wrist and fixated it with the water soaked cloth.

~°~

About a half an hour later not only Teresa's wrist but also her shoulder and her ankle were decorated with a nice temporary tattoo. Jane looked at his boss, admiring the way she gently ran her fingers over her new tattoos. "Well well, you look even better than before now. You don't need to thank me, I-" He couldn't say anything else since a pillow hit him on the head. 

"Hey! W-" Another one came flying right after the first one and hit him in the face, interrupting his protest. Terese Lisbon was giggling now, watching her partner slowly grabbing the pillow and shooting a half-angry look at her. Challenging, she raised her eyebrows as Patrick settled down the scissors and the temporary tattoos. "Oh you're gonna regret this." he mumbled in a deep voice before his hands shot forwards and started to tickle the senior agent's sides. "No! Jane! Get off me." she panted in between laughing fits as she tried her best to push his hands away from her body. Somehow their fingers intertwined and both of them stopped dead in their tracks. It became very quiet in Lisbon's living room, only the sound of her own quick breathing filled the air.

Neither of them dared to say a word as they stared into each others eyes, tingles shooting through their body at the unfamiliar touch. Jane could feel Lisbon's warm hands in his own and he wanted to hold them forever. They fitted so nicely in his, just like they were made just for each other. He didn't notice that they were leaning forward, both closing the space in between them more and more until it felt like they were breathing the same air. Teresa lost herself in the depths of Jane's blue eyes which flickered down to her lips every once in a while. That was what she had dreamed about for months now and she couldn't believe it was happening.

Their lips were almost touching as suddenly a loud cry sounded from outside. Jane and Lisbon both pulled back, shocked about the sudden interruption and looked around as if they could find the source of the crying in Lisbon's living room. "What the hell is that?" Teresa asked as her consultant got up and opened the front door. Outside, two children, not older than six or seven lay on the ground, their bikes next to them and both of them were crying at the top of their lungs. Jane sighed and instead of feeling bad for those kids he mentally cursed them for having such a bad timing. His boss, who was standing behind him, did so as well and after they both closed the door again, the awkwardness started to spread. 

"I, uh. I better go now." Jane stuttered as he quickly packed his things in the paper bag again. "Yeah. Okay." Lisbon stammered and guided him to her front door. "Uh, thank you. For the tattoos I mean." she said, barely looking at him now. She simply was too embarrassed. "No problem. I see you tomorrow." Jane answered and took a few steps out the door. But before he left completely, he turned around again and hugged his boss. It was a quick but firm hug and both of them closed their eyes and breathed in the scent of the other one before letting go. Lisbon shut the door and leaned against it, banging her head against the wood and putting her hands over her eyes. Jane did the same in his car before he let out a frustrated huff and drove home.


	8. 7. Slow Dance To My Favourite Song

7\. Slow Dance To My Favourite Song

It had been a long day for Teresa Lisbon and her team. First, Lisbon's boss assigned her a special case with highest priority. The daughter of a highly regarded politician was found next to the dead body of her boyfriend, completely high and terrified at the same time. Of course this case has to be handled with greatest discretion since it would have been a scandal like no other if the public found out about this. Then it turned out that it wasn't the daughter who killed her boyfriend but her father, the powerful politician himself, who thought a boy like that simply wasn't the right company for his beloved child and therefore killed him and drugged his daughter to wipe her memory. 

Lisbon sighed as she filled out the last of many forms, placed it inside the file and leaned back in her chair, shaking her hand which was hurting from writing so much. Her eyes wandered over to the pile of paperwork she just worked through and she shook her head in utter disbelief. This definitely wasn't why she chose to do this job. Then she risked a look through the glass windows of her bullpen to where the desks of her team mates and a certain brown couch were situated. At the familiar sight of blond curls a smile formed on the senior agent's lips and she contemplated whether she should go over to him or not. 

Things had been awkward since they almost kissed. They did manage to ignore it whenever they worked together but as much as everyone noticed them flirting, everyone also noticed the small gestures of uncertainty between them. Neither Jane nor Lisbon knew how to act or what to say and didn't want to lose the other one so they simply tip-toed around each other. Teresa sighed. Their relationship has been a rollercoaster recently. One day they are all giddy, flirting and "accidentally" bumping into one another and the next day everything is silent and tense between them and no one can look the other in the eye. 

The senior agent was annoyed, very much so that she decided to get up, walk over to her consultant and talk it all out. She didn't know where this boost of confidence came from but she quickly stood up before her newly regained bravery vanished as fast as it appeared. During the 5 seconds it took to walk out of her bullpen and into the big office room she thought about how she could start this conversation best until she finally stood, completely unprepared, in front of the couch. After a few more seconds of awkward silence, which was only filled with the quiet sound of the radio that stood on a table next to the couch but no one ever used, she cleared her throat. Jane woke up, he shook out of his sleep and looked at her quite startled. 

"W-what? Did something happen?" his voice was a bit hoarse as he sat up and rubbed over his eyes. Teresa smiled and admired how adorable he was half asleep but quickly snapped out of her stare. After some contemplating she sat down next to him an his couch to which Jane reacted with a raised eyebrow. "To what do I owe this honour?" he asked, a slightly mocking undertone in his voice. The agent rolled her eyes but smiled as she looked at her partner. "I was.." she trailed off and had to move her eyes back to her hands again. "I thought we.." she tried again but the words wouldn't come out properly.

She was scared. Scared that everything that happened between the two of them was just something that happened in her head, not real, just imagination. She was scared that he would laugh at her, or even worse, be weirded out and distance himself from her. But she had to say something since she started like that so she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and said "We need to talk. About us and this thing that's going on between us." As soon as the words were out, Lisbon wanted to run away and hide in her bed. She didn't want to see his reaction she just wanted to leave this room immediately. But she stayed, of course she stayed.

Jane's heart started racing as he heard her saying that. Thoughts filled his head. Thoughts about how she noticed him flirting and how that made her feel uncomfortable. Or about how she was his boss and she wanted him to be professional and how she didn't feel the same for him. His mouth was dry as he answered "Which thing?" The consultant had never felt so insecure in his life, not even with Angela. Intently, he watched his partner who was just starting to speak but suddenly stopped in the middle of her sentence. Teresa's eyes lit up and her mouth curved into a smile.

"I love that song." was all she said and swayed her head in the rhythm of the music. Jane smiled too, the stress leaving his body as he got up and reached out his hand for her to take. His boss looked at him questioning and he chuckled a bit. "It's the last thing on your list, Lisbon." The brunette smiled even more now and as she blushed slightly she grabbed his hand and let him lead her to the middle of the room. Slowly they both moved closer and while their hands stayed together, they rested their other one on each others back. 

The two didn't look at each other, they were too close to build up eye contact and so they simply started to move to the rhythm and enjoy the warmth of their bodies. After some seconds Teresa leaned her head against Patrick's shoulder, closed her eyes and sighed quietly. This was what she had wished for a long time. And it felt so good to be in her partner's arms, she felt warm and protected. Jane himself leaned his head against the smaller woman's head, closing his eyes as well and smiling at the intimate moment they shared with each other. 

The awkward conversation, or start of a conversation, they had just a minute ago seemed forgotten and all the tension that had built up between them during the last days disappeared and all that was left was the cozy, warm feeling that spread between the two of them. Unfortunately, the song ended after a few minutes and an awfully corny love song followed it. Jane and Lisbon broke apart, not fully but enough to look at each other and laugh lightly at the new song. They were still embracing each other but their faces were now so close, Lisbon could feel Jane's breath on her nose. 

"Thank you." she said quietly. "For everything. For this present. It truely has been the best birthday I ever had." The senior agent smiled and her consultant felt a warm feeling spread through his whole body. "Oh Teresa." Her body tingled as he said her first name. "You deserve so much more than I gave you during the last weeks." He moved both of his hands to her cheeks and gently brushed over them. Lisbon was flustered, she couldn't say anything, all she could do was wrapping her arms around her consultant's waist. 

And then the thing they both have been anticipating for weeks, the one thing that was building up between them the whole time happened: They finally kissed. It was nothing like Lisbon imagined. She expected him to be rough, passionate and fierce. But his lips touched hers so gently, she almost didn't feel them at first. After the first, careful contact was made, they opened their mouths and their tounges danced just as gently as they did just seconds ago. Jane's fingers stroked over her cheeks repeatedly and they kissed each other like that for as long as they could without breathing.

But the human body needs air to function and so they broke apart eventually, faces flustered and out of breath but both of them smiling brighter than the sun. "I guess this is the thing you wanted to talk about?" Jane teased his partner and earned a playful slap against his chest for his comment. "Hush, you could use your lips for something more useful than sarcasm right now." The consultant chuckled at that and leaned down again to kiss the woman he has been wanting to kiss for years now.


	9. Epilogue

It had been exactly three months and twenty-one days since Patrick Jane and Teresa Lisbon kissed for the first time. Many, many kissed followed after that night and after a week they decided to tell the team about their relationship. Of course, no one was really surprised but regardless they all were very happy that those two finally found each other. And they really did find each other. Lisbon and her boyfriend, it still felt unreal to say that, were happier than they both had ever been. 

Things still felt a bit weird between the two of them. Normal relationship situations like holding hands in public, flirting very obviously with each other and even small things like adressing the other one by their first name when they were alone were a huge difference to before which made their new life together even more exciting. Both of them enjoyed ever minute of being with each other.

Sometimes, when Jane lay on his couch, eyes closed, the background noises of the CBI headquarter slowly putting him to sleep, he thought about what would have happened if Lisbon didn't agree to that list. Or if he would've taken a walk down another street. He would have never seen that book and this brilliant idea would have never came to him. The consultant smiled a small smile. He didn't believe in coincidences but maybe he could make an exception for this particular situation. 

Despite the long period of time the two lovers spent together now, Teresa Lisbon still was stuck in the romance-stage of their relationship. She couldn't help but admire everything he did. And the thing was, that now she could do it openly. No more hiding, no more suppressed feelings. When she felt like grabing his hand or kissing his cheek, she did it. Simply because she could. And god, did that feel good. 

It was a beautiful day outside, the sun fought its way through the clouds and brought the world the first warm sunrays of this year. Spring was just starting which meant that Teresa's birthday was just around the corner. She and her partner took a walk down the same road Patrick once walked through, desperately searching for a good gift. Their fingers were intertwined, thumbs gently stroking over one another every once in a while. 

Patrick closed his eyes for a brief moment and enjoyed all of this, the memories this street held and the feeling of having the woman he loved right next to him. This time it was different than last year, this time he knew exactly what he wanted to give to Teresa for her birthday. He smiled, a rush of excitement and anticipation rushing through his body as he thought of how she'd react to his present. 

When they walked by the book store that started all of this he stopped her and looked through the window. Sadly, the book that inspired him wasn't standing there anymore but, to be honest, that was kind of predictable. "This is it." he said and the brunett looked up at him. "What?" she asked, a bit confused. Patrick looked back at her and smiled. "The place that started it all. It was here that I had the idea of asking you to write that list a year ago. And without that list, I would have never been brave enough to finally make a move on you." 

Teresa chuckled. "Make a move on me, what kind of macho expression is that?" she teased him and he chuckled with her. Comfortable silence filled the room between them as they simply enjoyed being in the presence of each other. The blond man then took a deep breath. "Teresa." the way he said her name gave her goosebumps and a shiver ran down her spine. "I want to ask you something. For your birthday I thought that maybe.." he trailed off, losing himself in her beautiful eyes. 

"What?" Teresa asked for the second time this day as she anxiously awaited his question. She had a few ideas of what to expect but she didn't dare to believe any of those. "I, I wanted to ask you if you.." Patrick let go of his girlfriend's hands and put them on both of her upper arms instead. "Teresa, will you move in with me?" Time slowed down after he asked his question and he was looking at her, watching her face for any signs of reaction whatsoever. 

Teresa was startled, she did expect something like that but actually hearing it still took her by surprise. But she didn't need alot of time to make her decision, in fact, that decision had been made a long, long time ago. "Yes! Of course!" she cheered and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his around her waist and they shared a warm embrace, both smiling into each other's shoulders. 

On this day, a new life began, the life of Teresa Lisbon and Patrick Jane, two people who were in love with each other for so long, they forgot what it felt like to have your love returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I finally managed to upload the Epilogue of this story. I hope it is a worthy ending.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who read my story and who maybe even left kudos or a comment behind.   
> I appreciate it greatly.


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